With last week’s State of the Union address, President Trump did a tremendous job laying out Republicans’ accomplishments over the last year on the issues that matter most to the American people. 

Under Biden, we had 9 percent inflation, millions of illegal aliens flooding across our border, rising crime, a depleted military, and chaos around the world. The turnaround under President Trump could not be more striking.

Inflation is at its lowest point in five years. Our border is secure, with not a single illegal alien admitted into our country in the last nine months. Last year saw the largest drop in the murder rate in U.S. history. Military recruitment is breaking new records. Our allies are working with us. Our adversaries and enemies fear us. And everyone knows that President Trump means business—and that he has the backing of the Republican-led Congress. 

As President Trump put it during his speech, “Our nation is back—bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before.”

While chronicling these wonderful developments, President Trump celebrated the goodness of the American people, including our brave service members. He awarded Medals of Honor to Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover, an Army helicopter pilot who was wounded during the successful operation to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, and to Navy Captain Elmer Royce Williams, a 100-year-old Korean War veteran who bested seven Soviet pilots in a long-classified dogfight. He presented Purple Hearts to the parents of Sarah Beckstrom, the National Guard member who was tragically murdered last year just blocks from the White House, as well as to her friend and fellow guardsman, Andrew Wolfe.

President Trump welcomed the gold-medal-winning U.S. Men’s Olympic Hockey Team and Dalilah Coleman, a seven-year-old girl who has made a remarkable recovery since being critically injured in a car wreck in California caused by an illegal alien. He recognized Erika Kirk, the widow of slain Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, and Anna Zarutska, whose daughter was tragically murdered last year by a career criminal on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina. And he welcomed Megan Hemhauser of Pennsylvania, a working mother of two who will save more than $5,000 this year thanks to Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts.

As we mark our nation’s 250th anniversary, each of these moments provided a powerful opportunity for the American people and all the Members of Congress in attendance to come together. Yet on many occasions, Democrats refused to stand to celebrate our country and our people. No instance was more appalling than when President Trump asked attendees to stand up if they agree with the statement, “The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.” Republicans shot up out of their seats. Democrats remained seated, stone-faced, and silent.

For so many Tennesseans I’ve heard from, this was the defining moment of the speech, making the radicalism of today’s Democrat Party crystal clear. While Republicans put the American people first, Democrats would rather provide for illegal aliens than for the citizens they serve.

In many ways, we already knew this. Today marks more than two weeks since the start of Democrats’ partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. While immigration enforcement remains funded thanks to Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts, other vital services from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, and Transportation Security Administration remain unfunded. Yet Democrats are holding these agencies hostage to demand restrictions that would make it more difficult for ICE agents to do their jobs.

At the same time, Democrats are trying to block passage of the SAVE America Act, commonsense legislation that would require individuals to present a photo ID to cast a ballot and proof of citizenship to register to vote. The reason is simple: Democrats want to enable voter fraud and allow illegal aliens to cast votes in U.S. elections.

The good news is that Republicans will not stop fighting for the American people—no matter how radical Democrats become. The state of our union is stronger than ever, and under Republican leadership, there is no going back.